A One Hundred Year Old Disaster Recalled
“Human Cargo Faces Death as Company Quibbles” “Clink of Coin Drowned Death Roar of Breakers” “Dollar Sign is Rescue Signal for Shipwreck” “Price Not Passengers is First” “Three Vessels Lay By Unable to Aid Victims” “Witness Tells About Haggling Over Charges” “Messages To and From Santa Rosa Are Burdened With Money Taint” “Captain’s Judgment Severely Criticized”
So read the headlines of various California and national newspapers in 1911. Dramatic as these titles were the Santa Rosa accident was only a footnote in the annals of maritime history. Why- because only four seamen lost their lives and there was no great environmental catastrophe.
But what made this event remarkable was the callous attitude of a ship’s captain, a leadership vacuum during a crisis and a corporation who valued profits before safety.
The delay in decision-making made for a case study on how poor leadership can allow a minor problem to spin hopelessly out of control. Unfortunately in the subsequent 100 years that lesson was lost in countless other situations.
How it all unraveled
The Santa Rosa was a large ironclad steamship, 326 feet long and displacing over 2,400 tons. It was considered a workhorse of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company starting its service in 1884 and serving reliably with over 1,100 trips. For over 25 years the Santa Rosa trudged up and down the California coastline safely carrying both cargo and passengers. Its practice was to hug the coastline as close as possible despite fog, inclement weather or difficult seas, thus permitting it to cut sailing time.
However 28 years of successful commercial service would come to an abrupt end the early morning of July 7, 1911.
For this voyage Captain J.O. Faria had taken over temporary command. The trip began in San Francisco on July 6, its mission: transport 200 passengers and 78 tons of cargo safely to San Diego.
Later the evening of the 6th a thick fog rolled in off the Pacific but Captain Fario was confident they were on course. He now retired for the night and turned over responsibility to Third Officer E. J. Thomas . Thomas’ task was to follow a series of coastal lighthouse beacons until they reached the Point Arguello lighthouse then turn east-southeast.
At approximately 3 a.m. Thomas saw a searchlight in the hills above Honda and mistakenly took it for the Arguello light. In fact it was a railroad gang performing some evening track repair. Thomas then steered Santa Rosa east prematurely and ran aground at a place called Saddle Rock. This was about 300 feet from shore and just north of Point Arguello lighthouse. Captain Faria had been awakened only moments before the impact.
As grounding accidents go this would rank low on the severity scale. The Santa Rosa found itself in a calm sea, with a favorable incoming tide and no injury to passengers, crew or ship. Sunrise was just a few hours off.
Adding to these favorable circumstances was that several steamers were standing nearby. And a new technology was available to the Santa Rosa -the wireless radio.
Point of Departure
As the sun rose over Saddle Rock on July 8th, a chagrined Captain Faria began to assess his options.
At about 9:00 a.m. the steamships Centralia and Helen Drew began to attach steel cables to the striken vessel attempting to stabilize it. Simultaneously a lifesaving crew from the shore readied their equipment in the hopes of retrieving passengers.
However aboard the Santa Rosa the passengers were growing anxious. They deputized a small group to present their concerns to the captain. Their decision was to leave immediately and board the waiting steamships or to go ashore and complete the trip by rail.
According to passenger E.K. Ross in a New York Times article dated July 8:
The sea was ” quiet as a millpond and it would have been an easy task for the crew to put us ashore. But Captain Faria said he had orders by wireless from his company to keep the people aboard”
Captain Faria next informed the Point Arguello lifesaving crew that his ship was in no danger and dismissed the need for their services.
Wireless confusion
The new wireless mechanism (“ship to shore”) now made communication possible for the first time between the Santa Rosa and the owner’s offices. However this would confuse accountability and contribute to the ship’s demise as we shall see.
10:36 a.m. To Captain Faria from G.H. Higbee, Pacific Coast Steamship Company:
“Have arranged with steamer Argyle (another steamship en route) to render you assistance — No attempt (to be towed) should be made until approaching High Water“
10:46 a.m. (again) To Captain Faria from G.H. Higbee, Pacific Coast Steamship Company :
“If passengers can be safely transferred to suitable vessel arrange such vessel to take them to Port San Luis, telegraphing us — .If they can safely remain on steamer and you believe you will get off tonight, give them their option of remaining — .”
12:50 p.m. (again) To Captain Faria from G.H. Higbee, Pacific Coast Steamship Company :
“If you transfer passengers by steamer make arrangements for payment of a lump sum or so much per passenger“
1:05 p.m. To G.H. Higbee from Captain Faria :
” — ..Advisable to get passengers off as soon as possible. Would like to transfer passengers to Centralia to Port Harford”.
1:50 p.m. (again) To G.H. Higbee from Captain Faria :
“Centralia refuses to make arrangements for towage and passengers. Centralia and [Schooner Helen ]Drew want arrangements settled in San Francisco with E.L. Company”.
1:58 p.m. To Captain Faria from G.H. Higbee, Pacific Coast Steamship Company :
“Transfer passengers to Port Harford by Centralia, but agree on price before doing so {Emphasis added}.Telegraph immediately what time passengers will be transferred and hour of Centralia’s departure“.
2:15 p.m. To G.H. Higbee from Captain Faria :
“Centralia will take passengers but will not make any price. Matter must be settled in San Francisco“.
3:45 p.m. To Captain Faria from G.H. Higbee, Pacific Coast Steamship Company:
“Suggest that if conditions are satisfactory you commence immediately transferring passengers to Centralia. We will arrange regarding Centralia compensation”.
5:15 p.m. To Captain Faria from G.H. Higbee, Pacific Coast Steamship Company:
“Give due consideration to passengers without regard to expense”.
Amid the back and forth the sea grew impatient. In the afternoon the wind and waves intensified making safe transfer less and less likely.
The offshore steamers had successfully secured wire cables to the Santa Rosa and maneuvered the vessel’s stern to face the waves. Then according to an eyewitness account in the San Francisco Call things changed quickly:
“The passengers were huddled on the after deck. The ship was pounding heavily. Suddenly with a crack like a rifle shot the line aft parted. The vessel at once swung around into the trough of the sea, which came surging over the stern. The terrified passengers made a rush forward, the captain with them, and as they fled toward the forecastle Mrs. Campbell heard the commander exclaim:
‘– I wish to God I had followed my own judgment and paid no attention to the orders from the city’….”
The ship was now being pummeled broadside. A lifeboat was dispatched with a crew of five to run a line for the breeches buoy lifesaving device. The boat quickly flipped over drowning four of the sailors.
Next it was the Santa Rosa’s turn to battle the sea. According to an eyewitness :
” I returned to the scene of the wreck in time to witness the breaking up of the vessel. Every one had their eyes fixed on the ship, and suddenly, without any previous warning, there was a loud report and we saw splinters of wood fly off the bulwarks. Then came a grinding crash, and then the midship section, which had been balanced on the sandbar, was seen to rise several feet. The stern fell away from the bow; the latter remaining high and dry, while the former seemed to slip back into the water. There was a wild scramble for the bow when the ship’s back broke not a passenger had been sent ashore”.
Panic now set in as lifeboats were hastily lowered into the surf. It was 5:45 p.m.before the first boat arrived through the breakers. Some of the boats that followed capsized throwing their occupants into the swirling waters. Miraculously not a single passenger would perish thanks to the heroic work of the lifesavings crew. However many were injured and encountered near-death experiences. The last passengers were finally ashore by 10:30 p.m.
Trial
The outrage over the disaster was waged publicly in the press for weeks before the formal inquiry and trial.
Formal charges were levied against the owners and the crew of the Santa Rosa in the form of criminal negligence.
During the open door inquiry, testimony was heard from the Assistant General Manager of Pacific Coast about his message to Captain Faria:
“That message has been misunderstood. The thought of quibbling over the price of transferring the passengers to the Centralia and getting them to Port San Luis never entered my head. I have been in the freight department of this company for nearly 30 years and my habit has been to get figures for everything I buy, so that I may keep my accounts in shipshape — I wanted the total cost only, not any particular price. To say that I ordered Captain Faria to dicker — is ridiculous”.
Captain Ericsson from the Centralia was then asked about Captain Faria’s actions:
“At 3 o’clock in the afternoon I received a message from [Captain Faria]. It was in answer to one I had sent him asking him to wait until 5 or 6 o’clock before making another attempt to get off the reef — I could not understand his answer, which was ‘Please wait until I hear from my company’….”
Why he had to wait for word from his company when there was a favorable opportunity to pull him into deep water was a puzzle to me“.
In the end Captain Faria and Third Officer Thomas were found solely responsible for the disaster. It was held that the maritime principle that the captain is in supreme command of his vessel had been violated. Surprisingly a lenient punishment was imposed Both men only had their licenses suspended for 12 months.
As for the Pacific Coast Steamship Company it was found that the wireless messages were mere “suggestions” rather than orders. This didn’t sit well with the San Francisco Call :
” The company was whitewashed, no criticism being offered of the practice of hugging the shore in making coastwise voyages, and no comment being made upon the flood of wireless telegrams, haggling over price of rescue, that were hurled at Captain Faria from the office in the city after the vessel struck. All the blame is placed upon the shoulders of the two officers”.
Sadly, four men and a ship had been needless casualties because no one wanted to assume responsibility. And technology was their scapegoat. In cleverly worded messages each party foisted of the responsibility on one another, when all that was needed was clear direction and leadership.
After Faria served his one-year suspension, he signed on with another steamer. He made headlines again in November 1912 when he smashed his ship, Curacao, into the Santa Barbara pier. A newspaper characterized Faria’s accident “as a case of beautiful boneheadness”.
No mention was made if Faria was distracted by a contemporaneous wireless communication.